KARACHI: Despite aggressive foreign selling due to mounting political tensions, the stock market surged to an all-time high above 82,000 during the outgoing short week.

Local investors went for value-hunting amid an improved economic outlook and firm hopes of approval for a new IMF bailout, which would further boost the economic outlook amid rising hopes for a further reduction in the interest rates due to receding inflation.

In its review, Arif Habib Ltd (AHL) said the KSE-100 index experienced a bullish week, driven by anticipation of $7bn appro­val from the IMF Exec­utive Board, for which a meeting is scheduled on Sept 25.

Moreover, the first rate cut of 50bps by the US Fed since 2020 boosted market participation across Asian markets, including local bourses. The Large-Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) output witnessed an increase of 2.4pc year-on-year in July, while on month-on-month, it shrank by 2.1pc.

After four months, the country posted a current account surplus of $75m in August. The government rejected all bids in the T-bill auction on Wednesday. Moreover, the Pakistan Investment Bon­ds auction witnessed a significant rate reduction, ranging from 190-335bps across all tenors. The State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves increa­s­ed by $43m, reaching $9.5bn. Furthermore, the rupee appreciated 0.12pc against the dollar to Rs277.81.

As a result, the market closed at 82,074.45 points, marking an increase of 2,741 points or 3.5pc week-on-week.

Sector-wise positive contributions came from commercial banks (1,139 points), exploration and production (637 points), fertiliser (631 points), cement (161 points) and oil and gas marketing companies (74 points). Mean­while, the sectors that mainly contributed negatively were refinery (30 points), engineering (29 points) and glass and ceramics (24 points). Scrip-wise positive contributors were Mari Petroleum (567 points), Fauji Fertiliser Company (324 points), Meezan Bank Ltd (304 points), Engro Fertiliser (287 points), and MCB Bank (278 points). Meanwhile, scrip-wise negative contributions came from National Bank of Pakistan (33 points), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (29 points), DGKC (27 points), Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim (23 points) and Tariq Glass Industries (22 points).

Aggressive selling by foreigners clocked in at $23m compared to a net sell of $7.5m last week. Major selling was witnessed in fertiliser ($9.8m), E&P’s ($6.1m) and banks ($2.8m). On the local front, buying was reported by mutual funds ($15.5m), followed by individuals ($4.4m) and banks ($3.3m).

The average volume dipped 22.6pc to 469m shares while the value traded jumped 20.9pc to $66m week-on-week.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2024